


Masala Chai

by WithPatienceComesPeace



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Chai - Freeform, Comfort, Duscur (Fire Emblem), Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Heartwarming, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Son Relationship, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27899875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WithPatienceComesPeace/pseuds/WithPatienceComesPeace
Summary: Dedue is given an opportunity to make chai the way his mother used to make it.An excerpt fromThe Lion and the Lotus.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11
Collections: Excerpts from The Lion and The Lotus





	Masala Chai

**Author's Note:**

> What if Dedue had someone else from Duscur in the Officer's Academy? Professor Parvati is an OC Duscuri math professor in the Officer's Academy.

_Special thanks to Moyou /[@budgie_qm](https://twitter.com/budgie_qm/status/1283719399677943808?s=20) on Twitter, who saw me request a South Asian Dedue, and then she did this:_

__

_This picture took my breath away and helped me set a foundation for Duscur full and rich. Thank you, Moyou, for helping me visualize it! Now it’s time for me to make it real._

_You can look forward to this Dedue at the Ball. ;)_

* * *

Professor Parvati brought Dedue to her apartment.

“Come. Sit down,” she said, as she pulled a chair out of the table for him. The parakeets squeaked, surprised to see her this early in the day. She blew a kiss at them.

“Tell me about your family,” she said.

He asked, “Why? Duscur is a ruin.”

Parvati snapped. “What do you think you are? From Faerghus?” She glared at him. The air filled with the chirping of parakeets.

She sighed and looked away from his startled expression. He didn’t deserve it. She knew what she was seeing in Dedue: a hatred for his own country inserted by Faerghus. It’s what people had been telling him for years. Those people — had warped him. They had done this to him. He had much to unlearn. There was much to undo. He didn’t need to be attacked by her too, even if what he was saying might hurt her…

She couldn’t say sorry, so she went into the kitchen. The saucepan she pulled out of the cupboards landed on the stove with a bang. She winced, his voice still ringing in her head. Duscur is a ruin. She needed to wash this pan. She picked up the pan and pointed Dedue to sit at the table again.

He misunderstood and came forward and took the pan.

“What are you doing?” asked Parvati.

“Did you want me to wash it?”

Parvati blinked. “Okay.”

She started looking for the masala chai. It wasn’t her preference. The South Duscuri liked their chai with milk, but she imagined a North Duscuri preparation would appeal to him. In any case, Randolph had gotten her this pouch of North Duscuri chai, in his sweetness and ignorance, and she couldn’t imagine a better way to use it.

“Well?” said Parvati, prompting him to start again. “Tell me about them.”

She listened to the sound of water as he rinsed the pan. He placed the pan on a lit stove to dry. He started telling her about his father and mother. He told her he had a sister. He said his was the town for smithing.

She asked, “Porialpuur?”

“That very one. Have you been?”

“Ah! Here it is!” Parvati pulled out the pouch Randolph had brought her from her pantry. She held it out for Dedue to see. “Would you like this?”

His eyes lit up with recognition. He took it off her hands to examine it. She smiled. He said, “Ginger.”

“Oh,” said Parvati. “You sit down. I can’t let my maheman make chai at my place!”

“I know how to make chai. I will make it like my mother’s.”

Parvati considered. Then shrugged. Her parents would be aghast at her letting a guest preparing the food for himself, but… “You just want ginger?”

“Aur laung. Aur elaichi.”

Parvati nodded. She got out the cloves and cardamom. She enjoyed listening to Dedue speak. Now that Hinidi was coming back to him, he sounded so different. He spoke faster, with a wider tonal range…and his voice literally went up in pitch. Pitch often correlated with the perception of mood and happiness — higher usually happier and more eager — so by changing language alone, Dedue sounded happier. He went from being very somber and serious to sounding like someone who was looking forward to something. It was amazing how people changed voices and tonality.

Or, thought Parvati, watching him grate the ginger over her cutting board, it’s because he is happier.

Dedue asked for black pepper. Parvati gave him a look. “Black pepper?” she said.

“Haan,” he said. Yes.

She pointed at the cupboard next to his head. There, he also found the mortar and pestle. He put the cardamom, cloves and black pepper in the mortar. At every step, he seemed to remember something. Now he said, “Cinnamon.”

“Oh,” said Parvati. “I do not have any cinnamon.”

He looked dumbfounded. “You don’t like it?”

“I have not yet acquired it.”

“Ah.” He looked at the mortar. “Then it will not be like hers…”

There was a swoop of feeling in Parvati. How long must it have been since he’d had his mother’s chai? Years. At least five.

She put a hand on his arm. “That’s okay,” she said.“Next time, it will be.”

He looked at her. “Next time you will have cinnamon.”

She nodded. “And anything else you remember. Just tell.”

Dedue smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> More on what evolves into a surprising and heart-warming mother-son relationship in [The Lion and the Lotus](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27672283/chapters/67717684)! I want to make the best, most complex Dedue that has ever existed! <3
> 
> Note: Dedue and Parvati speak in what is real-world Hindi (one of the many languages of India). I use "Hinidi" as modified Hindi for fiction.


End file.
